Château Capet-Guillier, `Château Tour de Capet` Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
Country: France Region: Bordeaux Vintage: 2015
Varietal: Merlot Category: Red Wine Color: Red
Producer: Château Capet-Guillier
"Founded in 1902, Château Capet-Guillier is a small estate lying to the south of the town of Saint-Emilion, close to the village of Saint-Hippolyte. Stéphane Derenoncourt and Benoît Coq lead the winemaking team, producing an excellent Saint-Emilion Grand Cru from the estate's three hectares of vines.
As expected from this area, Merlot and Cabernet Franc are the key varieties. The vines lie on a mix of chalk and clay soils, which result in naturally low vigour in the vines that in turn concentrates the flavours and sugars in the grapes. According to Stéphane, the limestone component adds a spice and floral character to the wines, while the south-facing aspect of the slopes aids ripening in difficult years. The harvest is carried out entirely by hand. The Château has invested in a sorting table with a camera that measures the colour and form of each individual berry. Any berry that is damaged or unripe is automatically discarded.
The wine is full-bodied, supple and accessible, with dark, berry fruit and spice, supported by fine-grained tannins. It has a long, complex finish and is drinking very well now.
The 2014 'Château Tour de Capet' contains 10% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 80% Merlot. The wine is aged for ten months: 30% in concrete vats, 15% in new French oak (medium toast) and 55% in barrels which were one or two years old.
The 2014 Saint-Émilion Grand Cru is 100% Merlot. It is fermented in large, conical oak vats for 17 days. 50% of wine went through malolactic fermentation and ageing in new medium-toast French oak barrels. The other 50% is aged in one year old barrels for 16-18 months."
Product Features: Vegan
Winemaker: Benoit Coq
Vineyards:
The twelve hectares of vines lie slightly lower down the slope from the Capet-Guillier vineyard. Soils here contain more clay and silt and thus are slightly more fertile, which results in an open, more forward style of wine. Crop thinning in the spring and leaf plucking in the summer ensures the fruit ripens evenly. Yields from the 30 year old vines are 45 hectolitres per hectare.
Vinification:
After gentle de-stemming, the berries were dropped uncrushed into concrete vats for the fermentation process. Temperature-controlled alcoholic fermentation took place for 17 days, followed by 20 days of maceration. Malolactic fermentation occurred from the beginning of November to the end of December. The wine aged for 10 months, 30% in concrete vats, 15% in new French oak barrels (medium toast) and 55% in barrels of one and two years old.
Tasting Notes:
Intense, clear purple-red in colour, this wine offers cherry perfumes and hints of toast. On the palate it is full in body, with soft, balanced tannins and juicy red fruit on the finish.
Food Suggestion:
This wine is perfect with eggs and mushrooms, steak ribs, duck breast, or mutton chops.
ABV:13% Classification: AOC Acidity [g/l]: 3
